Haridopolos' Opening Remarks to the Florida Senate

The following are Senate President Mike Haridopolos opening remarks from the first day of the 2012 legislative session on Jan. 10:

"Welcome back as we begin anew. We're here a little bit earlier than last year, but ready to work. I want to thank the Cabinet once again for joining us. We look forward to a successful session to lift people up and make sure that we provide new opportunities once again in the great state of Florida. Before I begin, I want to say a few thank yous and make some comments about some of the challenges that we will face over the next 60 days.

"First, I want to express my gratitude to my wife. As you know, this is a very challenging job, not only to serve as Senate president, but to make it to the Senate presidency. I'm very grateful for your love and support. I can never thank you enough for being by my side. Thank you very much.

"Also, here with us today are my parents. Many of you know them very well because they've been coming up here with us for the last 12 years.

"My mom and dad are special every single day. Unconditionally, they gave me love and support even when I was not always at my best. I want to say thanks to my mom and dad, Ernie and Georgia Haridopolos.

"By my side today is the person that was by my side 12 years ago. To those of us who served in the House of Representatives, the Class of 2000, there is a man on my left and I guess he's still there. Mike Bennett has been a warrior in the House and now in the Senate - a person who served our country so well in the Vietnam conflict and now has served his community so well in Southwest Florida. I am proud to have him by my side, along with his lovely wife, Dee, at the rostrum sharing our final session together.

"Mike and I are but two people who make this citizen Legislature. That is exactly what we are. We are a citizen Legislature - veterans, farmers, contractors, teachers, sheriffs, realtors, CEOs, dentists, bankers, entrepreneurs, and, of course, lawyers. We each have been empowered, lifted up by our community to serve the people of Florida in this special place known as the Florida Senate. Back in 2010, the voters sent us a very clear message - rein in government spending, reform broken entitlement programs, and create a pro-jobs agenda where jobs and opportunities can flourish. For a change, govern as we campaigned. Keep the campaign promises we made as we sought office.

"What a difference a year makes. Just a year ago, as we began, we faced a deteriorating situation - our AAA credit rating was deemed negative, unemployment rates were rising, and we faced a $4 billion budget shortfall with rising long-term costs with Medicaid, pensions and a whole slew of programs that we didn't think we could afford. We had a pill mill crisis where our attorney general would lead the fight to turn around families' lives. Facing these challenges, we went to work. I know that Senator Lawson is here and he often would say, "People will long forget what we've said here, but people will always remember what we did here." You sure did.

"I thought about these comments as many of us enter our last session in the Legislature. I thought long and hard about what I would say. I kept going back to the speeches and talks that we had at the start of session last year. I've got to admit that the agenda that Don and I put together last year was one that I thought would take two years to accomplish. It was ambitious, to say the least - Medicaid reform, pension reform, K-12 education, pill mills, and a budget shortfall. I can't tell you how proud I am of the Senate and the honor that you've bestowed on me to lead this Senate as you've met those challenges head-on every step of the way in an open and transparent manner like never before.

"I recall when I asked Joe Negron to lead us on Medicaid. He gave me a look, "Why me?" I think we all saw Senator Negron rise to the challenge working together with our friends across the aisle to solve a long-term budget problem. We have put ourselves in a position where we are empowering patients, doctors, and the state's rights once again as we move toward solutions as opposed to playing politics.

"In our K-12 system, I asked Steve Wise, after the governor's veto the previous year, to go around the state and listen to teachers, administrators, parents, and students formulate a policy that we can be proud of in our K-12 system and reward the best teachers in our state. I'm happy to report that we passed that, too.

"Pill mills for too long had been stuck in the mud. Fortunately, we had a new warrior here in Tallahassee. That was our attorney general. She and I believe strongly in the PDMP. This Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is important and will turn around people's lives. Once again, solutions and results followed.

"The key is you didn't talk, you acted. That is what's so exciting about serving in the Florida Legislature in these tumultuous times. When times are tough, people rise to the occasion and you surely did. What I'm most proud about is that you did it in an open forum - unafraid of the slings and arrows that might come when you took on these heavy burdens.

"I'm grateful for that leadership. With that said, I would also like to single out our leaders: Leader Gardiner and Leader Rich. Those issues that we faced together last year were not easy. They handled themselves with class and distinction and always made the Senate proud. For that, leaders, I applaud your efforts.

"Well done.

"It's one thing to pass laws, it's another to make sure the results come.

"There will be a few critics, I wouldn't doubt that. I'll tell you what, from a year ago things have changed dramatically through your hard work.

"Whatever is written, what I care about is what has the marketplace said about our changes. Our unemployment rate has dipped from the high of 12 percent down to 10 percent. In real terms, over 120,000 families - which almost a year ago faced unemployment, sorrow, and sadness, having to look into their son or daughter's eyes and say, "I don't have a job" - today are working in Florida and lifting other people up. That's a real accomplishment. That credit rating is important today. We took it for granted in the past. That credit rating, which a year ago had a negative outlook, now has a stable outlook. It will cost less to borrow money in the future to meet our needs. Law enforcement led by our attorney general has been given new tools to take on this problem with pill mills.

"We've seen it firsthand in our own community. Some of our own friends face this. This is not the typical drug. Thanks to our law enforcement agents and the good work of people like Senator Fasano and others, who pushed the idea of going after these pill mills, we're helping to turn around lives. That's what matters - turning around people's lives. We have the power to do so.

"Finally, in my world of political science where I've taught for almost 20 years, there's the old saying that political science is soft science. People vote with their feet. Well, guess what, 250,000 people entered the state of Florida. They think this is the place to start a business, grow a family, and find new opportunities. As our labors continue, way too many people remain unemployed. Almost a million are waking up this morning looking for hope and opportunity. What we need to continue to do is to provide economic climate change by creating a business climate to match our God-given natural environment. That will be our primary focus once again this year. I'm glad we have a governor who focuses every single day on that effort.

"To our work at hand, we have two constitutional mandates: a once-in-10-year opportunity with reapportionment and, of course, our budget. I must admit, as we went through the debate on Amendments 5 and 6, I think we all realized that there would be severe challenges in meeting these new voter-approved mandates. We took it in stride. I am so grateful for the unwavering leadership of our incoming Senate president, Don Gaetz. Senator Gaetz followed a very successful formula: listen before you talk. He did a lot of listening - just like with Medicaid, property taxes, and even the budget.

"We listened to people first. Senator Gaetz set out with so many committee members in this room in 26 town hall meetings across the state. Believe it or not, not every time did they agree with the good senator. He listened, he learned, and he made sure that everyone was included in this process. We utilized technology so that everyone would truly have a voice. After completing those 26 meetings, what did we do again? We had a series of meetings, giving everyone the opportunity to actively participate in what can be a very tumultuous process. I am proud to say that next week, on this very floor, we will have the opportunity, hopefully with bipartisan support, to pass our reapportionment plan respecting Amendments 5 and 6. With that action, we will justify the early session.

"Now, lets go to the issue of the budget. Many of you may or may not know that Senator Alexander and I live together. We are the original, or unoriginal, Odd Couple. This has been a challenging time, and I think that Senator Alexander, first and foremost, deserves a big round of applause for the work he has done. The senator and I spend a lot of time together. When you cut a budget like we did last year by $4 billion, there are no easy choices. We all know special programs for which we care deeply, that face the knife.

"J.D. and I would talk about them at length - the difficult choices that we would have to make, not just short-term but long-term as well. Im not sure he said it to you enough, but we spoke often, often late into the night. We talked about the active participation of every single senator in this room - how you cared deeply about education, health care, transportation, and especially with the job situation and economic opportunity.

"You spent time and encouraged him to find every single dollar available and to maximize every dollar in a tight economy. That will be our charge once again this year. Fortunately, the budget is not a $4 billion shortfall, but it could likely be a $2 billion shortfall. That means programs that are beloved to each of us, if not individuals, will be on the cutting block once again. So as we begin this budget process, I ask you to once again give the support that Senator Alexander desperately needs, because this is a trying task in which we not only try to land the plane in this building, but across the hall as well.

"Back in November, I let it be known that I had grave concerns about the realities of the Revenue Estimating Conference. As Im into my 12th session, I know that those revenue estimates are not always quite accurate. Especially as we begin early this year, we know one of the biggest months of those 12 months is January. Those wont even be a part of the equation. I am not arrogant enough to be a one-way street so I will ask the senators in this room for their input on how we proceed.

"There is no doubt that we will start the process and continue to work with the allocations with which we expect to work. I want to know, and I want to hear from you before we make decisions down the road, because this is not my Senate. It is our Senate. It is shared with the people of this state that gave us this opportunity to serve. I want to make sure that, when we make the final call on the important programs that might affect our courts, our education system, our road systems, and health care across this state, that we maximize every dollar to grow this economy, grow the minds of the people of this state, heal the sick, and help those in need. It is the budget that is the ultimate policy document. We must be thorough and accurate, and make sure we measure twice before we ever cut once. That is our charge over the next 60 days. Ill be looking for your input and what direction you would like me to follow as we work with our friends across the hall.

"So, friends, senators and family, let me say a couple of things in closing. You have again been given a very daunting task. Im proud to have a group of friends like you, seeing you care every day for your community and family and wanting to make a real important, positive change in the lives of people across this state. I know in the one-on-one conversations that I have had with many of you over the years that you face a lot of personal, financial, and other types of issues that have come up during that tenure. I know the sacrifice you make in literally packing up your family for 60 days. Packing up your business for 60 days is a challenge. I believe you are worthy of that challenge as you proved again last year. Im confident that we can meet those challenges and produce the results that our friends and neighbors expect of us.

"Those of you who visit my office - its not hard, the door is open - might see something on the wall that is important to me. I teach history. One of my favorite presidents is Theodore Roosevelt, a remarkable man who dedicated his life to making America a special place. This is the plaque that I placed on my wall because it is important. It talks about what really counts. It says on that plaque, The man or woman who counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic, but the person who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly; not the man who only writes or talks about how it ought to be done. Senators, he talks about being in the arena. You are in that arena for a reason. God has placed you here to make a distinct difference in the lives of all Floridians. That is our charge. I hope in the next 60 days that we will be in this arena, handling ourselves in such a way that our constituents will be proud to send us to Tallahassee to do the peoples business. Your community has lifted you up. Let us each be worthy of our title, "Senator of the Great State of Florida." Thank you very much."